Hey RFF Quick check in from my night job busy busy BUSY WEEK! Workouts have been great and food this week as well.. Happy thanksgiving to all of you that are still following along! Dpatt thank you for checking in ... I hope your shoulder heals up and you can get back on the grind! Much aloha peeps!!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I enjoyed time off with the family and still worked out the entire time. In fact I took my first spinning class on Friday morning. It started pretty easy but by the time 45 minutes had gone by I was sweating and feeling very dizzy. It seriously kicked my butt!

Dpatt- I can relate to the shoulder injury. My mother in law has had 2 surgeries (one for each arm) and mine seems to hurt at times during the challenge. I'm glad you are getting some rest on it since pain can be a warning of additional damage.

Hey RFF checking in post turkeyday Glad you still got the fire john and also congrats on the spinning that is wayy intense for sure! I have really been getting into kettlebells for my cardio days and have started trying to perfect a routine i came across youtube using dual kettlebells I have 25lb set and am working on getting a 30lb set.. check it out! I am no where near the form and explosiveness of this guy but I wont quit till I am!

I worked out everyday last week felt good though tryn to make up for the yummy turkey and all the fixins that came with it lol.. anyway RFF I killed my LBWO today and am really looking forward to tomorrows kettlebell routine woooooooo!!! much aloha

Hi RFF!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I sure did. The great thing is that I enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner and still didn't gain a pound! Woo hoo! I definitely kept up with my workouts all week and weekend. I did a great Zumba class with my 2 sisters and also did some kettlebell workouts with my sister, plus ran a Turkey Trot and a 10k. Gonna run another half marathon this Saturday in honor of my co-worker who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.

John: I LOVE spinning! I used to teach it and miss it so much!!!! It is an awesome workout and definitely an interval challenge!

Island: Way to go on the double kettlebells!

DPatt: Hope your shoulder gets better. Remember, this is for LIFE so just get right back to it!!!

Today I had a great 30 min running HIIT plus 25 min of core exercises with my medicine ball and kettlebells. Awesome workout!

Have a great day!

Island dude-- Thanks for the post on Kettles I really need to do more with that. It looks like fun and a great we way of adding some variety to workouts.

Runnermom- You used to teach spinning? Now I'm doubly impressed.  Towards the end he said turn the resistance 4 turns to the right and stand up and go for 4 minutes. My heart sank because I was already tired and dizzy. I thought about stopping but then I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes and went for it.  It felt so good to finish it and finish tough!

I'm struggling this week. We got back from thanksgiving and I was doing well but I've been hit with all the pre christmas activities and now I have to go to Prague for work for a week and a half. I don't know why because I ate clean all day but then had a big bowl of pasta for dinner. I don't feel so bad about that so much as I'm craving more bad carbs today :( Oh well I'm going to hit through it.

I hope you all have a great day!

Hey RFF kettlebell routine was done and damn it hurt soo good haha did a 1.5 mile warm up run on the TM before to get the body ready for the real work.. John I am sold with kettlebells the types of workouts you can do with them are quite simply infinite. The sweat value is unbelievable as well.. it wont take long till you are literally pouring out in sweat! Stay strong my friend I know you got the will and the heart to make things work..

MUch aloha!

Hey RFF checking in.. Hit my UBWO hard and had a damn good pump going on :-) had a take this hehe Had a good food day and ready for my kettlebell combat routine tomorrow woooo .. have a happy thursday all ..

Impressive pic, Island!!! Your progress is amazing!

John: Yes, I LOVED teaching spinning! I am thinking about joining a gym again for spinning and Zumba! I really miss spinning, and my sisters introduced me to Zumba last week and it was a blast!!! Stay strong...I know you can do this and get through the rest of this challenge STRONG!!!!

Today was cardio day for me. I did a 30 min running HIIT plus 25 min of abs and core with my medicine ball and kettlebell. It was a great workout. Gonna do a light UBWO tomorrow as my half marathon is Saturday. The weather has been REALLY cold here in the mornings (26 degrees this morning...yikes!) so hoping for warmer temps on Saturday!!

Have a great weekend...tomorrow is FRIDAY...yea!!!

Hello All.  I'm glad everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  I did as well.  Ate just enough and not too much - a small portion of dessert - one small slice of apple, pumpkin and lemon chiffon pie- about equal to one whole slice altogether.

Still keeping up with the workouts - been out of touch with the room but am all caught up now.  It sounds like everyone is doing great.  

I had a death in the family which has hit me hard - my mom passed away at 86 - she was not a very active person and did not go well.   She couldn't walk and in the final days, couldn't talk anymore.   She also lived 900 miles away so it was difficult to see her regularly.  Fortunately, I did get to see her 3 weeks before she died when she was still able to talk and was cognitive.   It's very sad to see someone deteriorate - especially someone you love.  If I have anything to say about it, I will not go out like that - and I think of her now every time I workout.  In a way, she has become my inspiration.

Well, tomorrow is a day off.  I hope you all have a great weekend.  Christmas is coming.  You'd better be good.

Hi RFF!

LB: I am so sorry about your mom. I will be praying for you. I know this must be a difficult time for you. I am glad, though, that you are determined to be healthier because of it.

My half marathon was great on Saturday, especially since I was running it for my friend Martha and her battle with breast cancer. Having a reason to run makes it so much more meaningful!

Accountability: Today was UBWO. I did P90x Chest, Tris and Shoulders. I was tired from the long run on Saturday, but pushed through to finish my workout!

Have a great day everyone!!!!

Hi everyone! it's me! I've been gone for forever, I know. I had some things to take care of and a family crisis to help with and school....I didn't do very well with Bill Phillips challenge to expect obstacles and promise myself to FINISH my challenge, but here I am...late but not dead :)

island_dude: HoLy SmOkEs! Your pix show your hard word! Great job!  and that kettlebell exercise video you posted...I cringed just watching it (and I'm going to try it on Saturday!) I don't have a kettlebell, but i think i can fake it with some small dumbbells and a 20# dumbbell i got at a second hand store.

Speaking of which: I've found some great workout equipment at some local 2nd hand stores. Last week there was a bench, bar, and a whole box of weights for about $50. I am kicking myself for not buying it! but anyways, for those who are building home gyms, check out the second hand stores.

runnermom: congrats on the half marathon!

SHEEEEEEP!!!!! Welcome back my friend!! We missed you! Give it a shot what ever works and just keep an eye out on those kettle bells.. they go onsale or even on clearance sometimes Sorry I have been quiet the last almost week.. I recently had a death in the family my stepfather passed last Thursday.. Been busy just trying to make sure my mom is ok still got my workouts in but my head wasn't really in it... This week has been alot better though.. Hit my UBWO and managed to get a new best on the barbell bench last night 225lbs for six I was barely doing 4 prior to this and my super set was also great 205lbs for 12 followed by 155lb barbell incline bench presses.. managed to get 10 and hit my 10 as well lol... I Had a great circuit W/O today and after work decided to go for an evening run it was soo nice running in the moonlight.. I managed to run 3.2 miles in 27 mins flat! my last mile came in at 7:34! Fastest ever! I was thinking of u runnermom :) anyway just wanted to check in.. much aloha crew

ALOOOHA Island dude. I’ve missed you guys too. I thought every day that I should log in and keep in touch.  

Whoa, you lift a ton of weight Island dude. I was going to try some kettlebell exercises for cardio this morning but didn’t sleep last night so I had to make today a free day so I can get some rest. Walking up a flight of stairs is exhausting to me today. So, postponed till Saturday.

I’ve got good news: I added 5# to my 6-rep set of chest presses. Whoo hoo. I’m still having a hard time with the UBWO…don’t feel like I’m progressing or like I’m hitting 10s. I’m going to switch my exercises this week and see how some new ideas go.

Lb: So sorry to hear about you mother’s passing. It was lovely to read what you wrote about her inspiring you to take care of your health.

Runnermom: Whoa you have so much energy. I feel energetic just reading your posts. Do you have any suggestions for strengthening shin splints? I’ve got terrible shin splints and people say if I build up those muscles around the tibias, then it’ll get better. Others say that once you’ve got shin splints, you’ll always have them. Do you have an knowledge/experience?

I found a triathlon in Las Vegas next year that I think I might train for after this challenge. The part that worries me is the running, but I discovered that some triathlons only have 3 mile runs.

Hope you all are training dirty 

Island dude:  I said terrible things about you in my head Saturday morning. I tried the entire kettlebell workout that you posted from the utube video (I’d tried a few moves last week).  You train dirty.  (I feel like I’m accusing you of stealing my Halloween candy…haha)

I didn’t expect to like the renegade walks that they have at the end of the  routine but I think those were my favorite. The jump-shrugs took more coordination than I could muster, but I kinda faked it. On the move where you stand up and punch, then lay down and punch, I added some legs while I was laying down so I’d get my abs a little more. I wasn’t using very heavy weights, so I had some room to add on.

So, tomorrow’s cardio day. I’m going to try that kettlebell routine again. If I’m still alive after, I’ll be in touch :)

p.s. Island dude: for my christmas gift to my mom, i'm going to put together a book/packet for her of kettlebell exercises (she just bought a kbell but it only came with a paper with 5 exercises on it). Do you have any websites you recommend?